Alvaro Bautista admits he ‘didn’t have anything left’ in his slender 0.111s victory over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) in race two at Portimao’s 10th round of the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), which saw the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider return to the winners circle for the first time since round seven in July.

The Spaniard, who recorded a 4-2 scorecard in the opening encounter and Superpole race, put on an incredible charge in race two despite still dealing with a shoulder injury, where he managed to fend off four-time champion Rea on the final lap to claim victory.

“It has been a very tough weekend for me, especially physically because my shoulder is still not at 100 percent,” said Bautista. “I felt worse this morning after yesterday’s race so I tried to start well in the Superpole Race. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of positions and used up most of my energy, but I finished second which meant that I could start from the front row in race two.

“In the afternoon I again made a bad start, lifting the front of the bike up and losing some positions but I was still in the leading group so was not too worried. Mid-race I felt my pace was stronger so I decided to go for the lead and push hard until the end.

“I could manage the advantage but in the last two laps I felt every drop of energy leave me, luckily it was the last lap because I didn’t have anything left. It was my first time here in Portimão and I’m happy to get a win again after more than two months.”

The WorldSBK rookie still maintains second in the standings, 91 points behind Rea as the series heads to Magny-Cours in France on 27-29 September.

Image: Foremost Media.

Reigning champion Troy Herfoss believes race two shouldn’t have been called off yesterday afternoon at Winton’s fifth round of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), the Penrite Honda Racing rider stating the decision to abort the outing that had already been declared wet ‘didn’t make sense’.

Race two was initially reduced to 10 laps after two restarts due incidents at turn two – the first claiming Mark Chiodo (Penrite Honda Racing) in a nasty high-side that also saw Kyle Buckley (Kawasaki BCperformance) crash heavily, while the restart saw Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team) and Lachlan Epis (Kawasaki) crash separately at the same turn.

Officials declared a wet race upon the second restart, although the field of riders remained on slicks. Worsening conditions just four laps in prompted the encounter to be called off completely, just as Herfoss passed both Mike Jones (DesmoSport Ducati) and Wayne Maxwell (Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia) for the lead.

However, only positions held on the previous lap counted towards the race result with just half points paying, crediting Jones the win over Maxwell and Herfoss, which added to the New South Welshman’s frustration.

“It was a good race day, although obviously starting from 12th it was difficult to move forward,” Herfoss explained. “The first race I had the pace to run with the front guys, but I think third place was our best result anyway. In race two there was a lot of carnage – they declared the race wet and then it rained and they called it off – it didn’t make sense, so I’m pretty disappointed about that.

“I understand the safety side of things because we’re on slick tyres, but when it’s a wet race, you’ve got a choice to run wet tyres or dry tyres, so to me, there was no reason to stop.

“To be fair, the next race was dry anyway. When the red flag came out I was in the lead and my lap-time before that was almost my fastest of the weekend. I hope the guys that crashed are alright, but now we move on to Phillip Island.

Herfoss suffered two major setbacks on Saturday when he crashed heavily in both free practice and qualifying, forcing him to start from P12 on the grid. He put on a heroic performance to earn a pair of thirds for third overall. He’s currently ranked fourth in the championship standings.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Kyle Buckley’s return to racing at Winton’s fifth round of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Superbike Championship (ASBK) ended bitterly as the Kawasaki BCperformance rider was injured in an unavoidable crash during race two.

Buckley, who charged to P12 in race one, was involved in the incident that called out the first red-flag of the second outing at turn two, when Mark Chiodo (Penrite Honda Racing) high-sided at the front of the field, with his CBR1000RR SP Fireblade sliding into the path of the number 83.

The Queenslander crashed heavily on his right shoulder, breaking his collarbone and suffering suspected further injury to his shoulder.

“The weekend was good until race two, I was making progress moving forward and I was happy with the first race,” said Buckley. “I got caught up in an incident in the second race on lap one and I think I’ve broken my collarbone and some injury to my shoulder as well.

“I’ll try get it sorted and be back for the next one at Phillip Island. I’m feeling good on the bike and I wasn’t struggling as much as I thought I would be, and I’m working well with the team. Hopefully we can be back up inside the top 10.”

The incident was the first of two at the exit of the opening esses in the final encounter, with the restart seeing Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team) and Lachlan Epis (Kawasaki) crash separately in the increasingly slippery conditions. The race was restarted again before being declared four laps in.

Image: Supplied.

Australian Josh Brookes has taken ahold of the 2019 Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) lead as the Showdown commences, his seventh race win of the season at Oulton Park over the weekend promoting him to the top spot.

The top six riders in the championship standings only become the title fighters for the final three rounds, with each rider beginning the Showdown with 500 points, plus additional points for each podium position they’ve obtained in the first nine rounds.

The standard points scoring format from the main season then continues for the Showdown, with all points scores from the final seven races counting.

Brookes won the opening race at the weekend’s ninth before finishing second to Be Wiser Ducati teammate Scott Redding in race two, while the final encounter of the triple-header saw him crash out of contention.

“I was trying to save the tyre at the beginning of the first race today to be clever at the end, but the reality was there was nothing in reserve at the end and the lap times were quick from start to finish,” Brookes explained. “Everyone’s upped their game and riding well so we’re all pushing each other on, and I just managed to get Tommy on the run into the line.

“Full credit to Scott though, he controlled the race and took a good win. The third race was going to plan until I unfortunately slid off and it wasn’t the ideal way to end the weekend. We’ve looked at the data and I wasn’t doing anything different to the previous laps, but we were on lap record pace and when you’re riding at that kind of pace, a millimetre or a bump can make the difference.

“I head into the Showdown leading the standings and whilst it would have been nice to have had a bigger gap, I’m ready for the challenge that lies ahead.”

Fellow Australian Jason O’Halloran (McAms Yamaha) recorded a 6-6-6 scorecard, while compatriot Ben Currie (JG Speedlift Kawasaki) went 11-DNF-17. The next stop on the calendar is at Assen in The Netherlands on 20-22 September.